Predators that decapitate chickens

[cahia]

Sorry for your loss! I have yet to determine what did the same to my hens a couple of weeks ago. I put up a trail cam but haven't had any pests show up, but luckily haven't had any more losses either.

 

[buck2]

I lost chickens to decapitation once. Weasel family. Never pinned it to specific critter but both skunk and mink were visiting the scene. They are very strong. They can pry their way through swinging doors if there is any give to the door. This can be disturbing that they can kill so many just to seemingly take the head! Lost nine one night.

 

[Bizzybirdy]

I am having this problem...went to open one of my chicken houses and found 8 purebred hens dead! ALL with their heads off of their necks bitten, nothing else touched. We sat out that night and saw a Fishers Cat (weasel) sneaking back to that house and shot at it but missed. Apparenty they dring the blood from live chickens and are just the meanest animals, will even kill cats, dogs, groundhogs, squirrels (I notice I don't have any more squirrels around either).

Sat out for the last 5 nights and while we were watching one coop it came and killed everything in two others on two different nights. My chicken houses are built like Ft. Knox, with concrete under the doors or raised floors, but weasels just need a tiny space, 3-4", to get in! I am SICK. It seems to only like live chickens, have had no luck trapping with a dead chicken but this thing has to go or we will not have any chickens soon.

Last night it got all my beautiful 2 year old Buff Orpington hens!!

 

[Amystef]

Bizzybird. I am so heartbroken for you. I thought finding two hens was bad. I think we may have to bring these girls in the house. Hang in there

 

[Ashlie2001]

We may have lost most of ours due to foxes/ coyotes, but I'd say raccoons are one of the worst because they decapitate the birds and leave their bodies (most of the time anyway). I know as in the past a few years back, we had our current youngest birds roosting outside (most in a tree and a few on a wooden beam) and one day we found a golden laced wyandotte's body she was decapitated.

 

[SmColorInDaPan]

COMPLETELY Free Range, 20 acres, NON fenced; Have had something get the girls going on Mountain behind Cabin, for last week. Yelled, Scared them off. Have Dogs, a Walker Hound so THEY CAN SMELL predators, scare them worse than I ever could. Not any Coons, weasels, up here in the last 14y. This Morning found Wild Tom Turkey beheaded in F yard. Pretty sure Dogs Brought it's dead body home. But since Foxes, Owls, Coyotes are our usual and COYOTES DON'T leave meat behind, wondering what else could be.

 

[cmom]

Cameras are good and usually capture images of what is lurking.

 

[Foxymae124]

I found one of my young Chickens inside the coop with their decapitated, with the head laying on one side of the coop. I have already seen possums within the chicken pen but this the first time that I have seen one of my babies with no head. What I want to know is what animal would do something like this

 

[nao57]

You'll find there are other posts about this. Most animals just kill and eat them without decapitating them. its weasels that eat the heads and decapitate them. People wrote about this in the past where the weasels for some reason like the stuff in their heads.

Possums don't decapitate to my knowledge. And a fox would just eat whatever part randomly they chose without going straight for the head also.

Also on this forum, in the past people wrote about how weasels would slaughter all of the chickens entirely without even eating anything. They just were a plague on them. *Most* other predators would *usually* only take 1 meal and leave but not slaughter everything they could.